Barossa Goldfields is a locality in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

. It is on the southwestern side of the

Barossa Council Barossa Council is a local government area in the Barossa Valley in South Australia. The council area covers 912 square kilometres and had a population of over 23,000 as at the 2016 Census. History It was proclaimed on 1 July 1996 following t ...

, bounded on the southwest by the

South Para River The South Para River is a river located in the Mount Lofty Ranges northeast of Adelaide in the Australian state of South Australia. The river's name is based directly on the Kaurna word ''pari'' which means river. The "south" descriptor disti ...

. The locality is now essentially rural, but is named for the gold mining and prospecting in the second half of the nineteenth century in the area, on the creeks descending to the South Para River. Part of that area is now preserved as part of the

Para Wirra Recreation Park Para, or PARA, may refer to: Businesses and organizations * Paramount Global, traded as PARA on the Nasdaq stock exchange * Para Group, the former name of CT Corp * Para Rubber, now Skellerup, a New Zealand manufacturer * Para USA, formerly ...

. A total of 778 kg of gold was produced in the area. Gold was discovered in October 1868 by

Job Harris Job Harris (22 July 1840 – 12 January 1882), was a store keeper, post master, hotelier, gold miner and South Australian prominently associated with the discovery of gold at the Barossa Goldfields, the largest gold rush in the colony of South A ...

, a publican at Sandy Creek. Within the first week, 2000 people had rushed to the area and 4000 within a few weeks. The town of Barossa was established and survived until the 1950s. A second town of Victoria was established in 1869. By late 1870, the rush had subsided and only 100 miners remained with others having moved on to other fields. There were resurgences in 1887 and 1889 and companies formed to dig for deeper gold leads. None of the companies was successful, despite constructing a large gold

battery Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...

and tramways to supply it. Alluvial deposits were reworked during the 1930s depression.

References

{{authority control Mining towns in South Australia Gold mines in South Australia Former mines in Australia